Chasing the Sun

Thursday

Oct 23, 2014 at 5:00 AM

Photo submitted

The blazing colors, overlapping and flowing uncontrollably on Nicole Sutka's newest CD do much justice to what lies inside. Local musician Sutka has stitched her heart into her newest album, and refuses to let anyone squander her dreams as she strums the rhythms of her soul to audiences.

Sutka, a Holden native, will perform live at Electric Haze to celebrate the release of her self-titled CD, “Nicole Sutka,” on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m.

For Sutka, music became part of her life at the age of 4, when she fixed upon the recorder. Within the next few years, she added the violin and flute to her harmonic hit list. As a teenager, she expressed a desire to tackle chorus, as well. “I was kind of feisty as a teenager,” she said. “I was persistent that I wanted to do both — chorus (and) band.”

Shifting her surroundings, Sutka joined a jazz band at the age of 15. “I kind of broke the rule because they never had flute in jazz band,” she stated.

Before long, though, Sutka decided the electric bass would better encompass the sound that she aimed to produce. So, after purchasing a bass amp, she plotted to teach herself how to play. Little did she know, the electric bass would illuminate her future. Sutka soon entered her first rock band, and commenced the art of improvisation. “Doing rock music definitely was a different environment,” she said. “Even though I was in a jazz band, I read all my parts.”

Portraying her rebellious attitude once more, Sutka went on to create her own major in the UMass Amherst Jazz Department. All the while, she sharpened her musical abilities by jamming with various bands. By the time she completed recording “Nicole Sutka,” she had built up what she described as a “lifetime of experience.” Looking back on her accomplishments, she said, “I’ve played every style of music that you can imagine. I’ve really taken on any challenge everyone’s ever given me.”

Sutka’s passion for music never faltered, even as different stages presented her with obstacles. “The face of the rock musician isn’t as gender specific as it was when I was growing up,” she said, describing the injustice that she faced as a female rocker. With disappointment, she recalled upon instances when venues had tried to charge her admission because they assumed she was merely a band member’s girlfriend.

Despite these adversities, she kept a close grip on her goals. “I was born to be a musician,” she said, “and (I) just had to do it, regardless.”

Packing up the insight she had gained from experiences in other bands, Sutka embarked to form her own musical group. By concocting her own sound, Sutka was finally given the chance to “represent the music the way I want it.”

Free to express her own styles, Sutka crafted eight of the 10 tracks on her new album. The lyrics for the two remaining songs were devised by Jonathan Cook. At times, writing a tune can be puzzling, Sutka asserts. Once a bit of a melody shapes, though, Sutka can complete an arrangement within a few hours. “The music tends to create its own path,” she said. While hunched over the piano, a few appealing notes may trigger a reaction in Sutka’s head, which screams, “that feels right.”

Sutka tends to use her lyrics as a channel for her inner afflictions. She transposes her emotions into “brushstrokes of color.” Sutka divulges that her music sets aside “a proper place” for her feelings of distraught.

Her originality at a crescendo, Sutka notes inspiration in her daughter, Nakia. “I wanted to model what it’s like to have goals and attain them,” she said. “To have challenges in life and still find happiness.” Sutka yearns to provide living proof that “no matter how hard it is to be who you are, in the end you can do it.”

According to Sutka, the challenges of a musician are plentiful – all the more reason to demonstrate perseverance to her daughter and other listeners. Enunciating the financial strain of a performer, she revealed, “the thing that I was born to do, is the thing that I don’t get paid enough to do singularly.” Referencing a secondary job with the Westborough Public Schools, Sutka said with a chuckle she would “probably be 10 albums in, if I didn’t have to make my money elsewhere.”

Her efforts are worthwhile, though, all leading up to the exhilaration of traipsing off stage after a performance. “I’m hoping that everyone walks away with a smile on their face,” said Sutka of her performances. “I hope they enjoy what I was able to create,” but adds she is perfectly content with her music, regardless of the amount of fans demanding an encore. To Sutka, success in the music world is immeasurable.

Sutka is currently prepping to fill Electric Haze with her vivid reverberations alongside fellow members of the Nicole Sutka Band, Mike Lynch, Brooks Milgate and Simon Adamsson. “We all have voices that should be listened to,” she said. Sutka is gratified that her community heeds her voice, and applauds others who pursue their own ambitions. “Chase the sun,” she bellows in her song, “Only Satellites.” “Fade the day until we melt away.”